Chapter XI · Śloka 29
यथा प्रदीप्तं ज्वलनं पतङ्गा
विशन्ति नाशाय समृद्धवेगाः |
तथैव नाशाय विशन्ति लोका-
स्तवापि वक्त्राणि समृद्धवेगाः ||
विशन्ति नाशाय समृद्धवेगाः |
तथैव नाशाय विशन्ति लोका-
स्तवापि वक्त्राणि समृद्धवेगाः ||
yathā pradīptaṃ jvalanaṃ pataṅgā
viśanti nāśāya samṛddha-vegāḥ |
tathaiva nāśāya viśanti lokās
tavāpi vaktrāṇi samṛddha-vegāḥ ||
viśanti nāśāya samṛddha-vegāḥ |
tathaiva nāśāya viśanti lokās
tavāpi vaktrāṇi samṛddha-vegāḥ ||
As moths rush with great speed into a blazing fire to their own destruction, so too do all these creatures rush into Your mouths with great speed to their own destruction.
The moth-and-flame image sharpens the paradox: creatures are drawn toward the very thing that destroys them, and they accelerate as they approach. Arjuna is witnessing the self-consuming momentum of saṃsāra itself.